My Civil War book discussion group just read Sherman's Memoirs . In discussing it tonight one of the people asked what is a FLYING BRIDGE which was used by Sherman's troops to cross some of the rivers on the March. I said I didn't know but bet some of you would know. Come on Johan you always have the information . Do you know this one?

Thanks so much.

Susan

By the way many of us have a different view of Sherman after reading this book.

"Flying bridge, a temporary bridge suspended or floating, as for the passage of armies; also, a floating structure connected by a cable with an anchor or pier up stream, and made to pass from bank to bank by the action of the current or other means. --"

I agree with you on many things, but I can't go along with your description of General Sherman as a : "war criminal." Sherman certainly made war on property, but he wasn't into systematic killing. All he wanted to do was force the southerners to submit to what he referred to as: "proper authority." (The US Gov't).

General Sheridan, when it came to the Indians, conducted a war of extermination. Today it would probably be referred to as: "ethnic cleansing."

TD.. the two are different, and I thought I made that distinction... ethnic cleansing...eradicate a people..."the only dead indian...." I view them all the same.

I have read letters from Sherman to his wife that seem to contradict his desire for people to submit.... IIRC he believed that the southern people should "Welcome Death"
I have believed he was the devil personfied all my life and right or wrong, it is unlikely I will change my belief.

Sherman's men adored him because he didn't waste them in useless campaigns and battles. He won with them and beat the enemy w/ a minimum of casualties, on either side.

Sherman is one of those men who has his weaknesses. But I go by what the men who served under had to say, and frankly they adored "Uncle Billy." Much of the idea that Sherman made war on women and children is postwar Lost Cause propoganda. He destroyed the infastructure of the CS, hastening the end and he's hated for it even today.

After reading the memiors I am tending to agree with Johan on this one. Many of the things said of him are just not true. He destroyed the military infrastructure on his march to the sea, anything that could be used for the military.

Sherman is certainly not as bad as he is sometimes portrayed but his men did get out of control and plunder the countryside. And his men were primarily responsible for what happened at Columbia. Another example is the way his men behaved in Milledgeville which at the time was the capitol of Georgia. To say that Sherman's men only targeted military infrastructure is just as disingenuous as the claim that he executed thousands of civilians and poured salt into the soil.

I also believe Sherman makes the claim in his memoirs that he wasn't surprised at Shiloh which is definitely not true. Memoirs are always self-serving which is why I try to avoid them if possible.

I just finished reading the fiction book The March by E.L.Doctorow. I thought it was a pretty good piece of CW fiction, though I think Doctorow sometimes made Sherman alittle too "thoughtful," maybe for the sake of a good fictional story. But the one thing I wondered about was Sherman's relationship with Kilpatrick (Kill-Calvary) during the March. The author kind of leaves it foggy. How did Sherman really feel about Kilpatrick's actions on the March? He was, after all, accomplishing that goal of destroying the CS army's infrastructure, wasn't he?

"I know Kilpatrick is a hell of a damn fool but that is just the type of man I want for this expedition."

At Waynesboro, Georgia Kilpatrick was getting whipped so good by Wheeler's men that Sherman had to send over Jeff Davis's infantry as support. Later during the Carolinas campaign Sherman got completely fed up with Kilpatrick.

____________________"Cleburne is here!" meant that all was well. -Daniel Harvey Hill

As I recall Sherman called Kilpatrick a "damned fool...but just the kind of cavalry man I need." Tell you what, I'll look up the exact quote in my book on Kilpatrick. Maybe I can find something about their relationship as the Atlanta Campaign and subsequent "march" played out.

Some quick thoughts grabbed from "The life of Union General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick" by Samuel Martin.

1. General Sherman did not attend Kilpatrick's grand reunion for Civil War veterans that he hosted at his New Jersey farm on August 1887. Page 230

2. James H Wilson, cavalry division commander of the Army of the Potomac, questioned Sherman about whether Kilpatrick was qualified for the important role he occupied in the Atlanta campaign. Sherman replied, "I know [that] Kilpatrick is a hell of a damned fool , but I want just that sort of a man to command my cavalry on this expedition." Later, however, Sherman that the slur was used because...that was what a good many of [my] officers were in the habit of calling [him]. Page 192

3. When Kilpatrick was relieved of duty after the disgraceful Dahlgren raid on Richmond, it was Sherman who gave him a reprieve and offered him a command in the his Atlanta campaign. Pages 235 & 236.

4. Sherman openly praised Kilpatrick for his performance in North Carolina in 1864, but in private warned him about his scandalous involvement with girls such as Marie Boozer. Page 226.

My own personal impression is that Sherman did eventually feel quite embarassed by Kilkpatrick's shananigans. I do wonder, however, if Sherman would have been more tolerant if KIlpatrick had been more effective, say, on the calibre of J.E.B. Stuart.